Monday, February 3, 2014

Passwords for Seniors

As a senior I think I am qualified
to discuss a serious problem many seniors struggle with everyday.

We cannot remember all our
passwords.

And we cannot remember answers to
security questions.

We try.

I try to choose security questions
for which I know the answers. For instance, the street I lived on when I was
eight years old. I lived on the same street from age two until I went to
college. My parents lived on the street over 50 years. Easy to remember.

Or the name of my eldest
grandchild. Better not forget that. But that does not help the numerous seniors
without grandkids.

Sometimes
the choice of security questions presents a dilemma with no easily remembered
answer. My favorite color changes. I never had a favorite pet - we had a series
of cats. I do not remember my favorite childhood story character, probably
because I never had one.

Recently
I had a Comcast problem and was shut out of my account. The security question
dates back over ten years, when the account was initially set up. What is my
favorite beverage?I tried quite a few – coffee, water, beer (even
though I do not drink any), wine, hot chocolate, soda, diet soda…Never did get the right one.
I contacted tech support and they got me into my account. I also changed my
security question.

Favorite car? Not a car fan. As
long as a car runs I am happy.

Weight on my drivers license. Are
they kidding? New Jersey licenses do not have a weight category. I want to know
which states do, because I definitely will not move and get a license in that
state.

Unfortunately the same password
cannot be used for every site. Some require a combination of numbers and
letters, some a character such as ? or $. Others require at least one upper
case letter. A few websites require changing a password every few months, and
the same one cannot be used for a period of time, usually at least a year.

As we age the amount of data
stored in our brains increases. At some point brain files bulge and stuff
stored gets shoved aside, lands on the file floor, is misfiled, or forgotten.

A new airport rule does not
require those over 75 to remove their shoes and other accessories. I propose a
similar age exemption for passwords, but I would lower the age. People over 60
should be allowed to use the same password everywhere if they want.

To verify qualifications for the
exemption, seniors could list medical problems and request a dispensation from
remembering all those passwords. Acceptable reasons might include:

A food-related exemption:

I can't remember what I had for breakfast, how
do you expect me to remember all those passwords?

An age-related exemption:

I can't remember how old I am, how
do you expect me to remember a six or eight digit random number?

Lots of seniors will qualify for a sight exemption:

I have enough trouble seeing the
keyboard, how do you expect me to hit the correct keys all the time?

And then there is the: I may not be sick but my computer is
exemption:

My computer crashed and I lost all
my passwords. I do not remember them...

Please, computer geeks of the
world, heed our plea and come up with an easy, senior-friendly means of
accessing websites.

We will eagerly and gratefully
thank you, young computer geeks. And may your golden years be filled with
electronics easy to see, easy to access, easy to use, with large numbers and
controls, and gadgets rarely changed, upgraded, or obsoleted.

And while you are working on the
password problem, how about also doing seniors a favor and place a loud buzzer
on remote control devices. The buzzer would ring when accessing a "find
remote" button or key or icon on our cell phone.

That will work - as long as we do
not misplace both the remote and cell phone at the same time.

9 comments:

My husband keeps his passwords somewhere on his computer (sketchily hidden, I'll bet) and I have a three-page stapled list that I have folded in a drawer near my computer. I wonder which is more secure?

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After living over thirty years in south central PA, working and raising our two boys, my husband and I sold our home, I quit my job, and we moved to the Jersey shore.

Why move to one of the most expensive states in the country? - you might ask. Hub's job required remaining in the Philadelphia area, and we like shore life. People leave New Jersey for sunnier, cheaper locales.

I guess we are a bit crazy.

We figured if we moved to the beach the kids might come and visit once in a while. It worked. Our kids live in distant states but visit summers.

Meanwhile I started a new career as a freelance writer. My previous professional life was in the financial field, a rather strait-laced, buttoned down, crazy-in-its-own-way world.

Now I enjoy writing about whatever I want, including my travels and travails, friends and relatives, and other topics of interest, such as food, which is always interesting.